Paolo Esestime

Gabriele d'Annunzio Chieti-Pescara, Scienze Geologiche, Post-Doc

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Geologist with background in geophysics, and hydrocarbon geology.
Experienced seismic interpreter: working on tectonic studies, hydrocarbon plays and prospect evaluation.

Main focus on depth imaging and G&G integration of well-logs, magnetic and gravimetric data.

Familiar with different tectonic and sedimentary contexts, including carbonate and siliciclastic units, thrust-belts, passive margins, intracratonic basins and salt-related structures.

Currently working in the Seismic Industry for Spectrum Geo Ltd. in Woking (UK).
Supervisors: Prof. Fernando Calamita - G. d`Annunzio University of Chieti and Pescara, Italy , Dr. Jaume Verges - Jaume Almera Institut of Barcelona, Spain, and Prof. Jonathan Redfern - University of Manchester, UK
Phone: +44 (0) 7933 330 230

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Papers by Paolo Esestime

Combined Regional Multi-Beam and Seafloor Sampling to Derisk Hydrocarbon Exploration

First Break

Image-driven model building for ray-tomography: increasing confidence in exploring the MSGBC Basin (NW-Africa)

First Break, 2020

present a seismic tomography method applied to the processing of 28,000 km 2 of seismic data in d... more

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Tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Ofanto thrust-top basin

North Gabon: Lightning Strikes Connect the Gulf of Mexico Subsalt Trend to North Gabon

Subduction related faults and sedimentary basins: The Western Ionian Sea case

Tectonophysics, 2021

Abstract The Pliocene-Quaternary evolution of the western margin of the Calabrian Arc has been in... more Abstract The Pliocene-Quaternary evolution of the western margin of the Calabrian Arc has been investigated by analysing the configuration and distribution of local sedimentary basins and their relationship with shallow and deep tectonic structures. Research focussed on the evolution of the more recent offshore sedimentary basins located to the east of Sicily, along the Alfeo Fault System, using multichannel seismic lines, high-resolution bathymetry and newly acquired single-channel seismic profiles. The chosen study area encompasses a crustal sector where external thrusts of the Calabrian Arc branch into the Malta Escarpment, and this zone has been interpreted as a Subduction Transform Edge Propagator (STEP) Fault. The Western Ionian Sea is bounded by regional faults that controlled the deposition of the Pliocene-Quaternary sequences and define the present-day bathymetry. In this work we identified four main seismic sequences and three main unconformities in the basins, to better understand the geometry and the depositional setting of the basins. In addition, lateral correlation and 3D reconstruction of the sedimentary basins allows us to establish the direct relationship between the Alfeo Fault System activity and the geometry, the thickness, the evolution and filling phases of the sedimentary basins in this area. Results presented show how the Alfeo Fault drove the development of separate basin depocenters in the early stages of tectonic activity, resulting in a single elongated basin in the latest phases. The inferred fault kinematics, the analysis of displacements along strike and sediment thickening suggest a link with the slab geometry, as occurs in other subduction systems that develop subduction related faults. The results and the method applied in this study can also be applied for the interpretation of similar systems with similar geological settings in other areas of the world.

Shallow water 3D in South Gabon: a new generation of hydrocarbon prospects

First Break, 2018

challenge established exploration techniques in South Gabon by revealing new targets and prospect... more

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Paleozoic basin reactivation and inversion of the underexplored northern North Sea platforms: a cross-border approach

Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2021

Well penetrations on the UK East Shetland Platform (ESP) prove 1-8 km thick Devonian post-orogeni... more Well penetrations on the UK East Shetland Platform (ESP) prove 1-8 km thick Devonian post-orogenic extensional collapse-related successions. Conversely, extremely thick (1-6 km) Permo-Triassic basin fills without Devono-Carboniferous units were in the past interpreted west of the Utsira High, on the Norwegian Horda Platform and Stord Basin, albeit Pre-Triassic well penetrations are here very rare. In this work, the nature and age of Paleozoic-Triassic strata and structures in these underexplored platform regions are tentatively constrained by performing cross-border regional seismic interpretation east and west of the Viking Graben.We highlight cross-border analogies in structural style and seismic facies, with a similar evolution dominated by polyphase inversion tectonics and structural grain preservation. In the Norwegian study areas, much of the half-graben sedimentary fills may be interpreted as Devonian-?Carboniferous in age as in the ESP, rather than overly thick Permo-Triassi...

The role of palaeorelief in the control of Permian facies distribution over the Mid North Sea High, UK Continental Shelf

Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2018

The Mid North Sea High (MNSH) consists of a ridge of Paleozoic strata located in the centre of th... more The Mid North Sea High (MNSH) consists of a ridge of Paleozoic strata located in the centre of the North Sea between 55° N and 56° N. In 2010, interest in the Permian of the MNSH was revived by the discovery in Quadrant 44 of the Cygnus gas field. This study focuses on the Zechstein carbonates of the MNSH and uses play concepts that draw an analogy with the Zechstein oil and gas fields discovered in Denmark and Poland, and also with the Wissey gas field in Quadrant 53.New 2D seismic establishes the presence of a significant Zechstein reef that blocks the southern entrance of the Jenyon Gap onto the MNSH. Seismic data show that the reef developed in stages and its presence can be inferred from the occurrence of isolated lagoons within the centre of the build-up. The barrier reef's existence explains both the presence of the rare hygroscopic mineral tachyhydrite in the centre of the MNSH and also the observed isopach difference in the Zechstein cycles over the MNSH, as the barrier...

The Bortoluzzi Mud Volcano (Ionian Sea, Italy) and its potential for tracking the seismic cycle of active faults

Solid Earth Discussions, 2018

The Ionian Sea in southern Italy is at the center of active interaction and convergence between t... more The Ionian Sea in southern Italy is at the center of active interaction and convergence between the Eurasian and African-Adriatic plates in the Mediterranean. This area is seismically active with instrumentally/historically-recorded Mw > 7.0 earthquakes and it is affected by recently-discovered long strike-slip faults across the active Calabrian accretionary wedge. Many mud volcanoes occur on top of the wedge. A recently-discovered one (here named Bortoluzzi Mud Volcano, BMV) was surveyed during the Seismofaults 2017 cruise (May 2017). Bathymetric-backscatter surveys, seismic reflection profiles, geochemical and earthquake data as well as a gravity core are here used to geologically, geochemically, and geophysically characterize this structure. The BMV is a circular feature 22 m high and 1100 m in diameter with steep slopes (up to a dip of 22°). It sits atop the Calabrian accretionary wedge and a system of flower-like oblique-slip faults that are probably seismically active as demonstrated by earthquake hypocentral and focal data. Geochemistry of water samples from the seawater column on top of the BMV shows a significant contamination of the bottom waters from saline (evaporite-type) CH 4-dominated crustalderived fluids similar to the fluids collected from a mud volcano located in the Calabria main land over the same accretionary wedge. These results attest for the occurrence of an open crustal conduit through the BMV down to at least the Messinian evaporites at about-3000 m. This evidence is also substantiated by Helium isotope ratios and by different geochemical data from three sea water columns located elsewhere in the Ionian Sea. Conclusions are drawn on the origin of the BMV and on the potential of this type of structures for tracking the seismic cycle of active faults. Due to the widespread diffusion of mud volcanoes in seismically active settings, this study may contribute to indicate a potential and feasible future path for the use of these ubiquitous structures in favor of the mitigation of natural hazards.

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Different styles of fault reactivation in the Central Apennines (Italy)

Inversion structures in a foreland domain: Seismic examples from the Italian Adriatic Sea

Interpretation, 2015

Positive structural inversion within foreland domains ahead of thrust belts can create structures... more Positive structural inversion within foreland domains ahead of thrust belts can create structures with significant hydrocarbon potential in mature and underexplored areas. Within this context, the Adriatic region represents a well-established hydrocarbon province constituting a foreland domain bounded by the Apennines, Southern Alps, and Dinaric fold-and-thrust belts. Newly reprocessed regional 2D seismic data and a renewed exploration interest in the area motivate a reappraisal of the regional structure and stratigraphy of the deformed Central Adriatic region of Italy (i.e., the Mid-Adriatic Ridge). Here, we developed and discussed examples of inversion structures that have different structural styles. The structural interpretations displayed on time-to-depth converted profiles had been validated by 2D structural-kinematic balancing and forward modeling. Our aim was to better define the geometry, style, and timing of the analyzed inversion-related folds. Positive inversion structur...

The role of Adria paleomargin architecture on the geometry and kinematic of the Central-Southern Apennine chain during the Neogene-Quaternary evolution

The outer zones of the central Apennines are charac- terized by arcuate thrusts and related NE-ve... more The outer zones of the central Apennines are charac- terized by arcuate thrusts and related NE-verging folds that affect at least 2000 m thick Mesozoic-Neogene sedi- mentary succession (LAVECCHIA, 1981; GHISETTI &amp; VEZ- ZANI, 1990). The base of the succession is represented by a massive 800 m thick carbonate platform unit of Early Liassic age (Calcare Massiccio Fm.), that grades upwards into well-bedded pelagic carbonates, marls and silicicla- stics. The Jurassic portion of the succession displays thickness and facies variations, that are controlled by syn- sedimentary normal faults: these dismembered the Early Liassic carbonate platform into differently subsiding sea- mounts and troughs. The subsequent onset of Neogene orogenic deformation was responsible for the contraction of the sedimentary succession. A detailed analysis of some anticlines reveals the oc- currence of high-angle thrusts within the Calcare Massic- cio Fm., whose displacements are accommodated by fol- ding within the overlying pelagic succession

Il controllo dell'architettura del Paleomargine di Adria sull'evoluzione pre e post-Pliocene inferiore dell'Appennino Centro-Meridionale

Transversal structures of the Central-Southern Apennines: The Sangro-Volturno Line

Short-cut anticlines VS. full inversion anticlines in the salient structures of the Central-Southern Apennines

Relazioni tra pieghe e sovrascorrimenti nel Gran Sasso d'Italia (Appennino centrale). Thrust related folds in the Gran Sasso d'Italia (Central Apennines)

Inspiring new Prospectivity in the Italian Adriatic Basin

Seismic expression of positive inversion structures within a foreland domain: insights from the Central Adriatic Sea (Italy)

Inversion Structures in a Foreland Area - Seismic Examples from the Adriatic Sea - Italy

Proceedings 76th EAGE Conference and Exhibition 2014, 2014

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Structural inheritance of pre- And syn-orogenic normal faults on the arcuate geometry of Pliocene-Quaternary thrusts: Examples from the Central and Southern Apennine Chain

Bollettino della Societa Geologica Italiana, 2009

ABSTRACT In the frontal sector of the Central-Southern Apennines, surface geological data integra... more ABSTRACT In the frontal sector of the Central-Southern Apennines, surface geological data integrated with seismic line interpretation provide new constraints into the reconstruction of the structural inheritance of Mesozoic pre-orogenic and Messinian-Pliocene syn-orogenic normal faults on the salient geometry of the Pliocene-Quaternary thrust system. In the Umbria-Marche-Abruzzi area, pre-orogenic normal faults commonly juxtapose the complete Jurassic succession (about 900 metres in thickness) onto coeval condensed successions (about 50 metres in thickness) deposited over structural highs. In the Sibillini Mts and Gran Sasso area, pre-orogenic normal faults are truncated and rotated into Pliocene thrust-sheets according to simple short-cut trajectories. In particular the foreland-dipping Jurassic normal faults in the Sibillini Mts area have been rotated and reactivated during the thrust propagation forming high-angle blind-thrusts in the east verging overturned folds. The Maiella anticline, which involves the Mesozoic-Miocene Apulian carbonate succession and the related slope deposits, joins the Central Apennine fold-and-thrust system to the Apulian Chain buried below the allochthonous Units of the Southern Apennines. Seismic line interpretation allowed us to reconstruct the three-dimensional pattern of the Apulian thrusts, oriented N-S, NNW-SSE and E-W, that are parallel to normal faults related to the Pliocene-Quaternary flexural extension in the foreland. Detailed reconstruction of the Setteporte and Monte Taburno structures shows main N-S/NNE-SSW trending thrusts, branching into NW-SE/E-W trending minor thrusts and back-thrusts, characterized by push-up geometry, typically referable to a transpressive deformation and/or to the positive reactivation of normal faults. Moreover, the sharp westward deepening of the base of the Apulian sedimentary succession (from 4.5 to 6.0 sec in TWT), based on the interpretation of the CROP 11 seismic reflection profile, and the concomitant increase in thickness of the Triassic sequence along the Maiella-Casoli transect, suggest the existence of west-dipping (?)Permian-Triassic normal faults that strongly controlled the distribution and thickness variation of syn-rifting sediments. An inversion of the deepest low angle portions of the pre- and syn-orogenic normal faults is in agreement with surface data (i.e., the structural elevation of the carbonate succession in the Casoli-Bomba anticline) and seismic line interpretation (i.e., deep seated location of the base of Apulian sedimentary succession below the same anticline). In the reconstructed inversion tectonics model, the N-S trending pre-thrusting normal faults are fully inverted as N-S transpressive segments of the salient structures of the chain, whereas, the NW-SE trending thrusts inverted the low angle portion of pre-thrusting normal faults in the middle-lower crust and displaced with a short-cut the normal faults in the upper portion of the crust. As a result, the pattern of the pre-existing normal faults is inherited on the salient structures of the Central and Southern Apennine Chain.

Paolo Esestime

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